I am a vintage iron enthusiast but you make me pale. I found this video researching a recent purchase of a 1955 40C. I paid $1200 and it operates perfectly except a one steering clutch and the undercarriage is 70%. Very cool video!
Thanks for the kind comments. The machine currently got pressed into service on the build of my son's new house. I faced the problem of using this machine or renting a machine from time to time to push dirt and stone around his lot. Currently a bit dusty, once I have completed the work there I will be doing a cleaning and fixing a few minor oil leaks. TonyK.
An absolutely beautiful job. It seems one can pay whatever one chooses for this sort of machine. There are RU-vid postings of a Bristol 25 bought in New Zealand for $500 NZ dollars. The bearings on the fan/water pump shaft have been replaced as has the thermostat. It is now capable of a full day's work. This is an equivalent, although much rarer, beast to the 40C but with the four cylinders more appropriate to another use of the same design power unit in the iconic London taxicab.
Currently my son is building a house so I have put this little machine into service pushing dirt and gravel. I works well the only down side is the 2 way blade but I keep thing when I am using it that this kind of machine was the beginning of machines used in the construction industry. Most operators would be frustrated but I think is it neat to see a 67 year old machine pull it's weight all day long. Thanks for the kind comments.TonyK.
Randy when I did this restoration there was no You Tube. Had to go to the library and learn. It was a fun job, but if you ever do a restoration, take your time, because everything you break, you have to fix or replace and sometimes all you can do with an old machine is repair parts or remake them. There was very little on line stuff in 99, catalogs were ordered and ordering by phone was the way it was done. The machine still running strong with about 135 hours now on it. Thanks for the comments.
Great job. I have started my restoration on 1953 40C.I have tried to film as much as I can. I just hope mine comes out as nice as yours, but I will be showing and using mine on the farm for cleanup. I have watched you vid numerous times to get inspiration to keep going. I will be posting my series of videos soon and I have numerous vids in different stages of work. Again nice job.
Let me know when you have a video up on You Tube. I would like to see your progress. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them. Thanks again for the comments.
Absolutely TOP SHELF RESTORATION!!! WOW!!! Beautiful crawler, very nicely done! Where did you find the hydraulic filter that was added on or did you make it? Thanks for the great video!!👍👍👍
The filter is a Hydraulic mesh that would normally go inside a tank. In this application I took an section of stainless pipe and made up two ends to make an inline strainer. Sadly these machines never came with a filter on the hydraulic system which leads to the wear of the pump. My intent here was to trap the dirt and prevent that from happening again. TonyK.
Nice! Does the filter then unscrew at one or both ends for cleaning? I'm getting a 1953 40C...she's in nice shape but love this idea! Is there enough room for a screw on style filter? Thank You for your time and help!
The ends are 2 plugs, been a while and the crawler is out in the barn and it is 16 degrees F right now outside. If I remember the strainer has a pipe nipple on it, so 1 plug was installed at the end of the strainer pipe section. The other end is 3/4" and has a compression fitting. To remove the strainer the glands must be loosened up and then 1 section of tube that goes into the oil tank must be loosened as well. Then just slide out the strainer body and remove the mesh and clean it. When I did the restoration I didn't want install something that looked to current, with this strainer you have to look really hard to see it. Just my preference. TonyK.
Your filter is definitely less intrusive when it comes to stealth and originality!! I really like the way yours fits with the machine!! Again, THANK YOU for your replies and great restoration...AWESOME JOB, Tony!!!
I paid $4500 USD at the time and put another $10K in parts and materials. That is the way restorations go. Some call a restoration paint, I don't. I wanted to put it back to a full functioning machine. I spent 2 years of my spare time doing the restoration. The dealer told me no one restores Crawlers, it would cost an other $30K in labour to do so. TonyK.
